Volkswagen Wants Damage From Former CEO Winterkorn And Audi Boss Stadler In Carbon Emission Scandal
The automaker Volkswagen announced on Friday that the company will be claiming damages from former Audi boss Rupert Stadler and former Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn. They will be seeking damage for the diesel emissions scandal that spoiled the company’s image.
The company revealed that it found Winterkorn and Stadler breaching their duty of care through a legal investigation. The investigation has not mentioned any more violations by other members of the management board.
Both the accused have denied the allegations against them over the scandal.
Volkswagen was accused of cheating the carbon emission test in the United States. The German carmaker even admitted in 2015 that they equipped their cars with illegal software to rig the test. This scandal went up to become the biggest corporate crisis in Germany.
Volkswagen had to pay over 32 billion Euros as fines, legal costs, and refits.
The scandal had a huge impact on the company. A week after the scandal came to light, Winterkorn resigned from the post of CEO on 23rd September 2015.
Three years after that, the car company fired Stadler from his post as the CEO of Audi. There has been a criminal investigation going on against him to determine if he was involved in the carbon emission cheating by Volkswagen.
As per Volkswagen, they have appointed law firm Gleiss Lutz to investigate the scandal. The firm is to screen and review 1.6 million files and over 1,550 interviews and questionings.
The supervisory board of Volkswagen said in a note to the staff on Friday that the company recognizes the great things that both Prof. Winterkorn and Mr. Stadler accomplished within the company. The company has no doubt over the ‘impressive achievements in their professional careers still stand’.
The note also revealed, ‘However, as successful as their work was, there were aspects that Prof. Winterkorn and Mr. Stadler as Group Board members did not monitor carefully enough.’
The company has finally chosen to claim damages for the scandal from Winterkorn and Stadler. They have been accused of breaching their duty of care under stock corporation law.
According to Winterkorn’s lawyers, he has denied all the allegations against him and he is disappointed with the supervisory board’s decision.
The lawyers said in a statement, ‘Prof Winterkorn is aware that the supervisory board is obliged to assess potential claims and to possibly assert them. He will therefore seek to clarify those questions in consultation with Volkswagen AG.’
Stadler’s lawyers refused to make any statement.
After the investigation, Volkswagen has come to a conclusion that Winterkorn violated his duty of care as he did not properly explain the reasons behind the illegal use of software in some diesel engine cars in the United States between 2009 and 2015.
Before this scandal, there has been another damage claim of 5 million euros against former Siemens CEO and Chairman Heinrich von Pierer in a bribery scandal in Germany, in 2009.
